Total Onslaught on Jesus christ
Modern day attacks on Jesus Christ aren't anything new, in fact, they're quite ancient, so ancient they've existed before Jesus Christ was born in human flesh. It all began when the Word of God was questioned in Eden. From Eden to the Cross The controversy between Christ and Satan is a theme very noticeable in bible, a reference to it seems to begin in Genesis 3:15. God put enmity between that old serpent (the devil) and the Woman, and between the serpent's spiritual seed and the The Seed of the Woman. It was predicted that The Seed of the Woman would bruise the serpent's head, and the serpent would bruise His heel. God also promised this Seed to Abraham and his children would be descendants of that Seed (Genesis 12:7). The Seed promised to Abraham was the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and he promised something better than an earthly kingdom (Galatians 3:16, John 14:3). Jesus was bruised for our transgressions and as prophesied, He crushed the serpent on Calvary (the Skull) (Isaiah 53:5, Luke 23:33). Revelation 12 points back to this Genesis prophecy and shows how its fulfillment led to Satan being ultimately cast down from heaven, which means as some suggest that the Crucifixion was the "last straw" for any sympathy for the devil (Revelation 12:9-10). Within the Church The Woman of Revelation 12 is described using imagery from Genesis 37:9 and is believed to represent God's people (Jeremiah 6:2). The Dragon (devil) is depicted as persecuting the Woman (the early church) , which later fled into the "wilderness" (Revelation 12:13-14). Christians were being attacked and killed by both Jews and Romans, yet this only made their numbers grow more, so eventually the devil had to change his tactics. Rather than attacking from the outside, the devil would have to attack from the inside by corrupting their doctrine. Idolatry, necromancy, the belief in an immortal soul, eternal hell torment, sunday worship, christmas, easter, etc. were some of things which crept into the church. Over the Bible In the Dark Ages, there still were however Christians of the primitive kind who were preserved in the "wilderness", such as those among the Celts, Bohemians, and the Waldensians (Revelation 12:14). The Waldensians in particular were branded as "heretics", becoming victims of the Crusades and the Papal Inquisition in the 13th century. Towards the end of the Dark Ages, the bible was translated by John Wycliffe into the common tongue. After this happened, there came the persecution of Wycliffe's followers, the Lollards, and the persecution of the Hussites. History shows that Christians like these truly have died over the bible and that the availability of the bible today wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for them. Soon after the bible was readily available, there came the Protestant Reformation. In 1540, the Jesuit Order was founded to counter the reformation (this is known as the counter-reformation). One of their purposes was to try to disprove the idea that the Catholic church was Antichrist. Somewhat ironically, the churches further persecutions seemed to defear the whole point of the counter-reformation and only prove that the Reformers were right. Revelation 12 predicted that the Serpent (devil) would try to "drown" The Woman with a "flood" of persecution and that new land would appear for her in America, thus "swallowing the flood" (Revelation 12:15-16). Many have died because of Christianity and the bible because the dominant Church of the time didn't want Christians reading the bible, in fact, it was quite upset to learn about bible societies being set up. Most people don't know this and just assume that Christianity and the bible is inherently the cause of evil, but the reality is it only provokes the Evil One (the devil) who hates the word of God. Jesus knew that the Word would cause division, that's why he said he didn't come to bring world peace, but a sword (that's God's word, a sword) (Matthew 10:34). Christians are not to marvel if the world hates them (1 John 3:13) or even if they are attacked from the inside (John 16:2). The Remnant The devil has become angry with the Woman and will to make war against the remnant of Woman's Seed because he knows he has a short time (Revelation 12:17). This remnant is described as patient, keeping the commandments of God and having the same faith Jesus had (Revelation 14:12). Christians aren't to be surprised by adversity, in fact, they are encouraged to joy in the partaking of Christ's sufferings (1 Peter 4:12-14). Relevance to our lives The world is in the state that it is in all because of this onslaught on the Word of God, Jesus Christ and His Kingdom (Lucifer rebelled and man fell into sin because of Christ/God's Word). Many don't realize this, but this controversy effects the whole world and everyone as an individual. It is in essence a war on the mind because it all depends on who people give their minds up to. God has messengers to sow the seed of His Word in our minds, yet at the same time the devil tries bewitch our minds with entertainment and drugs to root it out. Who will we give our minds to? The Word of God or to the corporate world which is headed by the devil himself? The devil is very sophisticated and doesn't have time to be everywhere at once, that's why he has agents to do his bidding.